I Miss Him Too
by Marymel
Summary: Spoilers for 13x07, "Fallen Angels." Greg and Nick comfort each other and remember their fallen friend.


**I don't own CSI.**

**Spoilers for "Fallen Angels."**

**I always loved the friendship between Nick and Warrick, but I also liked the relationship between Warrick and Greg. Warrick was his sort of mentor when Greg first was in the field. I wondered what Greg would have said after the events of "Fallen Angels," and this is what I came up with. Please read and review.**

Nick Stokes shook his head and sadly smiled when he saw Tina Brewster holding her and Warrick's son, Eli. If Warrick would have lived, there was no way he would have let Tina and his son live in virtual squalor as they had been. He wanted so desperately to have been a father to his son. So when Tina cut everyone from the lab off after Warrick's death, it was like losing Warrick all over again. Now, thanks to the team, Tina had another chance to really be a mother and pick herself back up, and the team had a chance to know Eli.

Nick walked back to the locker room, still smiling from talking to Eli. The child looked just like his father, and Nick wished he could have known the man. Now Nick was going to be the friend and father figure that Warrick had wanted him to be.

As he approached the locker room, Nick heard sniffling from inside the room. He tentatively stepped closer and saw his and Warrick's colleague and dear friend, Greg Sanders, sitting on the bench. His head was bowed and, though Nick couldn't see his face, he could tell Greg was crying. Nick softly approached the bench.

"G?" Nick whispered.

Greg looked up and wiped his cheeks, trying to erase the evidence of his tears. "Hey," he said weakly. "H-How'd it go?"

Nick smiled sadly. Greg was always his and Warrick's little brother, and Nick knew that if Warrick could see the good man and competent CSI Greg had become, he would be so proud. "I-It was...good. I mean, Eli will stay with a foster family for a few days, but Tina's going to go to counseling and...and let us know Eli."

Greg nodded. "Th-that's good."

Nick nodded and patted his friend's knee. "You're going to love Eli. He's so much like his dad."

Greg smiled sadly, a tear rolling down his cheek. "I'll bet."

Looking at his kid brother, Nick wished he could take away the hurt he felt at losing Warrick almost as much as he wished his own hurt would go away. Placing a supportive hand on Greg's shoulder, Nick said, "Warrick was proud of you."

Greg breathed a shaky sigh. "I miss him, too," he said in almost a whisper.

"I know," Nick said softly.

Looking up and trying not to let tears fall from his eyes, Greg looked at his best friend. "You two were...well, the guys." Greg and Nick chuckled sadly. "You were...you were closer than brothers." Looking away and trying not to cry, Greg added, "I was just the...CSI wannabe."

Nick sighed sadly when he heard Greg use the term Nick had once called him. "You are not a wannabe." Greg chuckled sadly and looked away. "G, you are a great CSI, and you were...you're our brother, too."

Greg wouldn't look at Nick for fear that doing so would bring more tears. "He was always...he was the one I went to when I was first in the field. Maybe because Grissom taught him so well."

Nick and Greg both smiled sadly, thinking of how Warrick loved their former boss and mentor like a father. "You are a part of our family, G."

Greg looked at Nick, his lower lip quivering with sadness. "He was always there...I guess I just thought he always would be."

Seeing his friend so close to tears made Nick fight back tears of his own. "Me too," he said softly.

"But when he...h-he died," Greg began. "I just...I couldn't..."

Nick wouldn't let his friend go any further. He pulled the younger CSI into a bear hug, both feeling the tears they'd been fighting slip out of their eyes.

They stayed like that for several minutes, shaking and crying. When Greg pulled away, he looked into Nick's eyes, both men with tears streaming down their cheeks.

"I'm sorry," Greg whispered.

Nick shook his head slowly. "You shouldn't be..."

"N-no," Greg said. "I've always wondered...if I hadn't left...if I'd stayed..."

"There was nothing any of us could have done!" Nick said. "Ever since...it happened, I've asked myself what if I'd walked with him to his car? What if I'd stopped him and asked him to stay a while longer? What if I hadn't noticed that waitress...I can't even remember her name." Nick looked at Greg, feeling the heartbreak of losing his best friend and the hope of knowing Warrick's son. "I'll always wish there was something we could have done...but there was nothing."

Greg looked at his best friend, tear stains still on the man's cheeks. "I am so sorry, Nick. I know I should have said that years ago..."

"It's okay," Nick said honestly, his hand still on Greg's elbow.

Greg looked down, feeling fresh tears sting his eyes. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."

Nick's eyes widened. "Yes you were! Greg we are a family! We've come through so damn much together!"

Greg looked up, a single tear falling down his cheek. "Yeah," he said softly.

Nick sighed. "G, I know I've never told you this, but I'm proud of you."

The younger man cleared his throat, trying to stop himself from crying again, and looked at his big brother. "Y-you are?"

"Yes!" Nick insisted, and it was true. Nick had watched the younger man go from goofy lab tech to capable CSI. And with everything that was thrown in his way, from nearly getting beaten to death to being treated like the low man on the team, Greg never complained. He always worked hard and kept going, never letting anything get in the way of his dream.

Greg looked into Nick's eyes, feeling both sad and happy tears form. The younger man was speechless, hearing his big brother and friend tell him that he was proud of him.

Nick smiled sadly at his little brother. "G, you have come so far. You are a great CSI. I know it, and so did Warrick."

Fresh tears pooled in Greg's eyes, but he didn't bother to wipe them away. "I miss him so much, Nick."

Nick pulled his little brother into another hug. "So do I. But you know, we have another chance...with Tina and Eli."

Greg pulled away and looked at Nick. He knew how much it hurt the older man to lose Warrick, and how it hurt him just as much when Tina refused to let him or anyone on the team near Eli. Now that Nick and the team had another chance, they were going to make sure Eli and Tina both knew they were important and loved.

"Eli deserves to know how amazing his father was," Greg said, softly but certainly.

Nick smiled. "Yes he does...and he will."

Greg smiled softly. "He will. He'll know that his father was a great CSI...and smart and loved music..."

"Yeah," Nick said softly. "And he was one of the best brothers anyone could ever hope to have."

Greg smiled at Nick. Both men had tears they hid with smiles. "Yes, he was." Putting his hand in Nick's, Greg said softly, "We had the best brother."

Nick smiled softly. "Yes we did."

**The End.**


End file.
